cursed wings of grief | genshin impact x f.reader

𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐭

The sun hung low, casting long shadows across the ancient ruins of Guili Plains. Aether stood still for a moment, surveying the scene before him. The once peaceful landscape was littered with the remains of defeated hilichurls and other monsters, their bodies scattered among like fallen leaves. In the distance, the sound of clashing steel rang through the air, sharp and unrelenting.

Xiao.

Aether narrowed his eyes and began to make his way toward the source of the noise. As he moved closer, the traveler’s sharp instincts told him that something was different. Xiao’s usual combat was precise, swift, but this, this was brutal, relentless. The ground trembled as another monster fell, and before its body could even settle, Xiao was already moving onto the next, his spear a blur of motion as he tore through his enemies with a cold, almost mechanical efficiency.

Aether finally came upon the scene: Xiao, drenched in sweat, his breathing heavy but controlled, stood among the ruins, surrounded by the lifeless bodies of the creatures he had slain. His golden eyes burned with an intensity that Aether hadn’t seen in a long time. Xiao’s polearm gleamed in the dying sunlight, still crackling with residual anemo energy.

He had been at this for hours, Aether could tell. Perhaps longer.

“Xiao,” Aether called softly, careful not to startle him.

Xiao didn’t turn, his shoulders tensed as though expecting yet another enemy. His grip tightened on his weapon, but there was no immediate response, just the sound of his labored breathing. He was pushing himself too hard, Aether could feel it, the weight of Xiao’s frustrations hanging in the air, accompanying his karmic debt like a suffocating mist.

Aether stepped closer, his eyes scanning the wreckage. "You've been doing this all day, haven’t you?"

Xiao’s silence was answer enough.

The traveler frowned, watching as Xiao wiped the sweat from his brow and straightened, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The ruins of Guili Plains stretched out before them, bathed in the orange glow of sunset. Xiao’s body was still, but Aether could feel the turmoil beneath the surface. His anger, his frustration, it radiated from him like heat from a flame.

“Xiao, this isn’t going to help,” Aether said quietly, stepping up beside him. "Killing more of these creatures... it won’t bring back the artifact. It won’t change what happened."

Xiao’s eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening. For a long moment, he said nothing, his expression as cold and unreadable as ever. Then, finally, he spoke, his voice low and sharp, like the edge of a blade.

“I failed.” His grip on his spear tightened, the metal groaning under the pressure. “Three artifacts. I let her get away with three.”

Aether shook his head. "This isn't your fault, Xiao. This person is dangerous, and she’s been planning this for a long time. You were right to be kind and give her a chance-"

“I shouldn't have been kind,” Xiao cut him off, his voice hard with self-reproach. “I let my guard down. She took advantage of that.”

The bitterness in Xiao’s tone was palpable, and Aether could see the responsibility pressing down on him. The weight of duty. Xiao had always been the vigilant protector of Liyue, never allowing himself to fail. But now, with Y/N’s trail of thefts growing more dangerous, the failure seemed to cut him deeper than any wound.